Cheem: An Origin Story
by Elizabeth Burke
Summary: Mickey falls for someone unexpected and a species is started.


**Author's Note: For the Caesar's Palace Rainbow History Month Challenge. Also, for the Alphabet Game 2.1 Prompt G for Garden.**

* * *

"We're not staying."

"We just landed," countered Rose, who reached over and snatched one of the Doctor's hands off the controls.

"It's not a good idea," he insisted again.

"What? Will I not be able to breathe out there or something?"

Mickey's eyes darted back and forth between them.

The Doctor glanced away from the console, stepped back, and dropped Rose's hand from his. "No. No. _You_ will be fine."

"Doctor," Rose said all drawn out like and Mickey knew that voice. It was the girlfriend-y 'you-have-mucked-up-and-you-best-come-clean' voice, and he wondered when the Doctor got around to stealing that too.

"It's Cheem."

"Oh," answered Rose. "Ohhhh," she repeated as if that answered everything. Which, of course, to Mickey meant nothing.

"What's Cheem?" he asked, hoping one of them will fill him in.

The Doctor muttered, "Somewhere we aren't staying."

Rose glared at the Doctor and stepped way in close to Mickey. She was close enough for him to breathe in the scent of unfamiliar TARDIS shampoo, and close enough to put a flutter in his stomach again.

"The Doctor's got this girlfriend," she whispered.

The Doctor's fist slammed down on the console, and Mickey and Rose both jumped. Rose swiveled around to face the Doctor who grumbled, "I haven't got..." but never finished the sentence.

Mickey tried to break the tension with, "stepping out on your lady friend, playing the field. I gotcha."

"No," corrected Rose with a quick shake of her head. "She died. She burnt up. Saved us all."

A chuckle died in his throat and the smirk dropped from his face. "I'm sorry, Doctor, I-"

"It's fine," he said too quickly and too sharply.

It wasn't. Even an idiot can see that.

Rose shook her head at him again, this time looking at him with embarrassment and Mickey feels a twinge of dull anger. How was he supposed to know the Doctor was dating anyway? What with knicking Rose and all, it seemed a perfectly reasonable conclusion. It faded as quickly as it came on. Anyone who had his girl torched alive deserved to be a bit rude, after all.

Maybe that was why he didn't kick up much of a fuss when the two of them went off to talk somewhere without him or when Rose came back and said they were going out alone.

"Feel free to go on out, if you like, just keep the TARDIS in sight," suggested the Doctor, as they left, which let Mickey know it would be a while.

That had been two hours ago. Mickey had kicked about the TARDIS for a bit but grew bored on his own. The most interesting part of the TARDIS was the console and he didn't want to touch something and get flung back to ancient Egypt or somewhere, leave Rose stuck here. So he peeked out the doors and saw a world that looked, well remarkably like a picnkc garden back home, not even funny coloured grass or anything. He stepped out the box and made sure the door was shut and walked along. It was warm, so Mickey shed his jacket. While we was busy chucking it inside, and heard an appreciative whistle. He spun round but didn't see anyone, just trees.

Imagination running wild?

"Fantastic," he said aloud, "The Doctor's ego problem is catching."

That earned him a giggle, and this time there was no mistaking where the sound came from: a tree up ahead blinked and smiled at him. "Hi there."

"You're a talking tree. A talking tree with a face."

The tree nodded, er, rustled an assent. "And you're a lonely human."

Fair dues there. They'd both stated the obvious. Though he hated that desperation is what he gave off even to a tree.

He edged closer. "Have you got, like, a name?"

A couple of thinner branches snapped together. "Rooted trees don't usually bother, but if it helps to call me something, you could decide while we pollinate."

Other trees nearby started to stir, and the tree he'd been speaking to reached out and tugged him close. "I'm sorry, but I...I saw you first."

At first, Mickey was too confused to object, then he felt strangely comfortable against the tree's warm bark.

"Pollinate me! Pollinate me!" All the trees seemed to chorus at once.

"What is all this?" Mickey demanded, squirming out of the hold of branches.

The original tree peered down at him, and snaked a leaf inside his pants. "You have a fine stamen," elaborated the tree, prodding him with little regard to, or perhaps exactly aware of, the intimacy of the action.

Before he met the Doctor, Mickey would have thought this scenario was crazy. He was beginning to understand what had happened to Rose. He was also beginning to...

"Hey, uh, could you not?" He gently tugged on the twig still down his trousers and gasped as it shifted against him.

"Am I not doing it right?" asked the tree and Mickey saw the bark change color. He'd made a tree blush.

"No. No. You're fine. It was great really," he found himself reassuring. "It's just, don't you want to go out first?"

"I can't go anywhere. I'm rooted," deadpanned the tree. "But...but if you were to pollinate with me, our saplings might have the chance to travel about. It's why it's so important."

Mickey was quiet after that, stunned by the honesty of it all. Other trees continued to vie for his attention, so Mickey started up the base of the tree he was conversing with. As he guessed, much like earthlings in pubs they backed off at the visual sign of 'we're an item'.

Nestled in branches, Mickey felt surprisingly comfortable. Spurred on by the tree's honesty, he shared. About his parents, and his nana, and Rose, and the Doctor, until he'd spent everything. Somewhere along the way, he'd noticed that he had a lot in common with someone standing still, hoping for someone to stand still with. That, like his new friend, he'd been limited, tethered, while the future wandered off without him.

So when leaves trailed down over his curves and crevices Mickey decided maybe a little bit of pollinating wouldn't hurt...

Afterwards he must have fallen asleep because he was shocked awake by Rose's laughter.

Mickey flailed but his tree partner set him carefully on his feet.

"What're you doing stark in a tree?" Rose managed between puffs of laughter.

The Doctor, for his part, kept his back turned. "Rose, isn't that a bit obvious?" he mumbled, nudging her.

The laughter died down, replaced by a kind of stunned expression that nearly made Mickey crack up himself. "Oh, you mean?"

"Yeah," responded both men in sync.

"Mickey is apparently flexible when it comes to dancing," added the Doctor.

Mickey scrambled to dress, and tried to ignore the comments.

The Doctor turned and gave the tree an affectionate pat. "So, Mickey, staying to see your garden of children born?"

"I get a choice? Or you just wanting to dump me off?"

"We could pop back for you. We were too early to see Jabe anyway."

Rose sputtered in protest. "Doctor, we can't."

Mickey glanced back to the trees and forward to the TARDIS, his forehead furrowing. "Can I have sometime to think about it?"

"Of course, Mr. Smith. Rose, let's go see a film in the TARDIS?" The Doctor tugged her with him.

Mickey called after them. "Wait."

The Doctor turned about. "Decided already?"

"No. Just wondering what's happened to 'Mickey the idiot' and all that."

The Doctor grinned. "Certainly not insulting a man when I went flirting with his granddaughter."


End file.
